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The Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association have decided that there will be no ranking points involved in the tournament. The reason behind this termination of the ranking points is because of the ban imposed by the Championship on the Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour,” ATP’s statement said. “The decision by Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the UK this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP Ranking system”, it further added.
“It is also inconsistent with our Rankings agreement. Absent a change in circumstances, it is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022.”
Addressing the statement made by ATP, Wimbledon put forth two reasons why the tournament implemented the ban. The first reason was player safety as athletes are required to submit individual letters denouncing the Russian government to participate by UK law which could affect the safety of the player and the tournament. While the second reason was the idea of not promoting Russian propaganda by having players from that country succeed in the tournament.
“We appreciate that opinions differ in relation to our decision to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships this year, and we deeply regret the impact of this decision on the individuals affected,” Wimbledon’s press release said.
“However, given the position taken by the UK Government to limit Russia’s global influence, which removed automatic entry by ranking, and the widespread response of Government, industry, sport and creative institutions, we remain of the view that we have made the only viable decision for Wimbledon as a globally renowned sporting event and British institution, and we stand by the decision we have made”, the statement added.
The tournament authority further extended their disappointment at the decisions taken by the ATP, WTA and ITF in removing ranking points for The Championships stating, “We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in and damaging to all players who compete on Tour.”